New Report: Brazilian Forest Code, an important tool to
encourage efficient land use, but fraught with complexities for
states and landholders
CPI study helps clarify path to compliance as part of new Land
Use Initiative, INPUT
RIO DE JANEIRO—As world leaders prepare to meet in Paris next week to discuss global
climate change goals, Brazil is poised to begin implementing its much-anticipated Forest Code.
The legislation requires that, in a few months, rural producers must meet a deadline to register
in an electronic database that will help the government monitor and control deforestation. A
new study, however, shows the new Forest Code is complex, fraught with challenges, and
difficult to decipher – factors that may impact its effectiveness at achieving efficient and
sustainable land use. The study, which will be released as part of the Land Use Initiative (INPUT
- Iniciativa Para o Uso da Terra) and presented at the UNFCCC COP21 conference, analyzes the
Brazilian Forest Code from the rural producer’s perspective, pointing out possible paths for
conformity to the law, and making recommendations for compliance.
Instituted in 1934, the Brazilian Forest Code underwent a modernization process in 1965, and
its last revision occurred in 2012. One of the most important tools of the updated framework is
the CAR (Rural Environmental Registry), an electronic database in which every rural property
must be registered by May 5, 2016, and which the government will use to monitor and control
deforestation. To date, however, only around 60% of the Brazilian rural area has been
registered in the system. The highest registration rate is in the Northern region of the country,
and the lowest is in the South.
The low rates of registration may stem in part from the burden placed on landholders, who
must initiate environmental compliance and support the costs related to these activities, and
who must also navigate a complex and daunting set of information needs. For example,
landholders need to know the historical occupation of the land, including when deforestation
took place, and at what times, which may be difficult to obtain if the land previously had a
different owner. Further, if a landowner owns properties in different states, he or she must
follow different compliance procedures in each state. To date, of the 26 Brazilian states, only
15 have some kind of legislation on the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA –
Programa de Regularização Ambiental) and have therefore begun to establish rules to guide
rural producers on compliance. The states with implementation rules include: Amazonas,
Bahia, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso do sul, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio
Grande do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, and Tocantins.
Legal actions have also been filed, and are still pending, alleging the unconstitutionality of the
new Forest Code, which adds uncertainty and delays to process.
To help ease some of these barriers and speed implementation, the Climate Policy Initiative /
INPUT studies, "Brazil’s New Forest Code: Part I and II" provides an overview of the code and
its challenges and present a step-by-step guide for producers. It clarifies key terms and
compliance issues, outlining how individual producers can navigate the system through
detailed flow diagrams.
"The Forest Code provides a unique opportunity for the country to protect its remaining
forests and also accelerate the modernization of agriculture. Its success, however, will depend
on Brazil’s ability to anticipate and address the challenges regarding its implementation," says
Juliano Assunção, director of CPI and professor in the economics department at PUC-Rio.
The study will be presented in Paris during COP 21 by Joana Chiavari, senior analyst at Climate
Policy Initiative. It will be released as part of the launch of a new initiative: Land Use Initiative
(INPUT - Iniciativa Para o Uso da Terra), http://inputbrasil.org. Brazil’s New Forest Code “Part I
How to Navigate the Complexity" and “Part II: Paths and Challenges to Compliance” are the
first two in a series of studies and activities expected from this new initiative.
Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) works to improve the most important energy and land use
policies around the world, with a particular focus on finance. We support decision makers
through in-depth analysis on what works and what does not. CPI’s Brazil program - Núcleo de
Avaliação de Políticas Climáticas - partners with the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de
Janeiro and focuses on a Production and Protection approach to land use.
Land Use Initiative (INPUT) is a partnership between Climate Policy Initiative and Agroicone,
and is funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). It brings together a team
of specialists who work at the forefront of how to increase environmental protection and food
production.
CONTACT:
Mariana Campos
[email protected]
+55 21 3527-2520 / 97299-3553